Labour leadership hopeful Rebecca Long-Bailey launches her campaign in Manchester. She slams austerity and promises to create a fairer economy for all that will also tackle climate change. Rebecca Long-Bailey pledged to fight climate change, democratise the UK economy and replace the House of Lords with a senate outside of London if she became prime […]
Sir Richard Leese says ‘we are open to working with anybody’ – we asked campaign groups what they thought (pt.3)
In response to a recent blog post by Sir Richard Leese, we’ve been asking local groups to share their experiences of working Manchester City Council. Sir Richard Leese says the council are open to working with any parties interested in environmental and development issues. The following article by Pete Abel of Manchester Friends of the […]
Unicorn Grocery strives to help communities co-operate and ‘grow their own groceries’
In the heart of lively Chorlton-cum-Hardy you can find the fabled unicorn. This particular specimen is no mono-pointed myth, it is the thriving Unicorn Grocery Workers’ Cooperative. A member-run supermarket selling affordable, wholesome food, with a focus on organic, local and fair trade produce. Located on Albany Road and run by it’s motivated worker-owners, the […]
Addressing climate breakdown will take a movement from below and the left in power
By Manchester Momentum and Manchester Labour for a Green New Deal: Extinction Rebellion gave a powerful demonstration of peaceful civil resistance last weekend. By occupying Deansgate they stood in the best of Manchester’s traditions of protest. Manchester Momentum and Manchester Labour for a Green New Deal are proud to stand in solidarity with these campaigners […]
Fighting talk from Labour rally this week
On Monday 2 September, the Labour Party held a rally at the Lowry in Salford. I’d only received notification of it the night before, but even at such short notice it was an opportunity not to be missed. A snap general election is likely, and Labour is getting their message out while the current government […]
Campaigners join forces against council schemes they say ignore Manchester’s climate emergency
Local campaigners are joining forces to protest Manchester City Council’s plans to build a five-year, temporary 440 space car park on the former Central Retail Park in Ancoats, as well as the Great Ancoats Street Improvement Scheme, which removes cycle lanes. A protest was held on Thursday by the Northern Quarter residents and cycling campaigners […]
Burnham says GM needs a ‘new economy’ and promises funding for co-operative development
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has criticised the dominance of the “mantra about the free market” in shaping local economic policy and committed to pursuing a more co-operative economy for the region that sees industrial progress going hand in hand with social progress. He believes developing the “new economy” can be done while supporting […]
Food Poverty Action Plan aims to tackle hidden crisis in GM
The latest estimates are that 620,000 people in Greater Manchester are living in poverty, and struggle to put food on the table. Of those, around 200,000 are children experiencing food poverty. £30 billion per year has been cut from welfare budgets since 2010. By 2020, Local councils will have lost 60% of central government funding […]
Bus companies should be forced to provide a fleet that does not harm us
Pascale Robinson from The Better Buses for Greater Manchester campaign argues that re-regulating our bus services would improve our health, environment and economy. Better Buses are putting on a film and Q&A session at Bolton Socialist Club, Friday 22 March, 8 till 10pm. “The public ownership of rail, better control of bus services and investment […]
Is Burnham’s A Bed Every Night scheme enough?
On the first day in his role as mayor of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Andy Burnham pledged 15% of his £110,00 salary (£16,500) to his newly created Mayor’s homelessness fund. He had soared to victory in the election with 63% of the vote on the back of a pledge to end rough sleeping in Greater […]